LLL Reaches Out to Mothers Nursing Twins

We provide articles from our publications from previous years
for reference for our Leaders and members. Readers are cautioned to
remember that research and medical information change over time.

Women nursing multiples share
the needs of all mothers for La Leche League's support and information
as well as the need for specific help in the art of breastfeeding and
the care of two or more babies at once. In Madison, Wisconsin, expectant
mothers of twins are encouraged to attend regular Series Meetings. In
addition, there is a La Leche League Group that holds monthly meetings
that specifically address concerns related to nursing twins. Meetings
for mothers of multiples provide wonderful demonstrations for an expectant
or new mother. Any doubts raised by relatives or acquaintances outside
the family are dispelled when a woman anticipating a challenging beginning
learns at these special meetings that she can have a wonderful, satisfying
breastfeeding outcome with two infants.

At first our La Leche League
Group held a special meeting for mothers of multiples once during each
series, in the same way Toddler Meetings are held in some Groups. Meeting
frequency was increased to every other month because the mothers wanted
to meet more often. Bimonthly meetings gave expectant women more opportunities
to talk with experienced mothers. Then in September 1988 we began to
hold monthly meetings and these have continued. Currently these monthly
meetings are led by three experienced Leaders: Ann Haase-Kehl, Ruth
Sweet, and Anne Altshuler, who is also the mother of eight-year-old
twins.

Why Special Meetings? A twin
pregnancy is frequently labeled "high risk." A mother expecting twins
worries about how to cope with recommendations of bedrest and extra
medical procedures. She may be concerned about a possible premature
birth.

Not every mother reacts with
joy when she learns she can expect to deliver two or more babies at
once. She may mourn the loss of the exclusive one-to-one mother-baby
relationship she anticipated. Her family may face added financial strain.

The adjustment to and eventual
pleasure of having two or more babies at once may take time. A mother
grieves over the loss of control at the time of a delivery beset with
the potential for added complications. She may need to relinquish some
aspects of the birthing experience that did not live up to her expectations.
Many twins are born early. Mothers have come to Group Meetings with
two premature babies, each on an apnea monitor, an alarm system that
goes off if a baby stops breathing.

Mothers need special support
along with techniques to help small babies latch on correctly and nurse
effectively. Some of these babies may have initially been tube or bottle
fed in neonatal intensive care units. In the early days, their mothers
need help to find a satisfactory breast pump and information on how
to build up and maintain an adequate milk supply. Babies may need help
in overcoming nipple confusion. Many mothers also have to deal with
recovery following a cesarean birth. The Leaders of these special meetings
are called upon to do a lot of telephone helping if a mother is on bedrest
or if she finds it very difficult to travel to Group Meetings.

A mother of twins is beset
with questions and comments wherever she goes. The same remarks tend
to come up over and over:

"Are they twins?" "Are they
identical?" "How do you tell them apart?" "Oh! I've always wanted twins!"
"Aren't you lucky!" "I don't know how you manage! I have my hands
full with just one!" "Mine are just thirteen months apart, so I know
how you feel." "You must have your hands full .... Double trouble!"

When a new mother has twins
she longs for a place to move beyond these comments and share her concerns
and feelings with others experiencing the same intense demands of parenting
more than one baby at a time. Often hesitant to speak out about her
needs at regular La Leche League meetings, she may be fearful of trivializing
the concerns of single-birth mothers. Or she may think no one else shares
in her unique concerns.

At Series Meetings, Leaders
often speak of the mother of a nursing baby as having an arm free for
her toddler or preschooler. But a mother breastfeeding twins has both
arms full much of the time. Here are some suggested hints:

nurse while sitting on
the floor, using plenty of pillows so you can be level with an older
child,

listen together to a favorite
story or song tape during nursing time,

have two dolls for the
older child to care for when alongside mother.

Sleep arrangements for families
with twins can vary. Mothers need assurance that there are a variety
of ways to meet the nighttime and rest needs of all family members.
William Sears' NIGHTTIME PARENTING
is frequently referred to. Equally reassuring are the shared stories
of the many creative ways different families have worked to solve sleep
challenges in a caring fashion. La Leche League can offer alternatives
for a mother to consider, especially when mothers of twins are given
outside advice to train children to meet their own needs at night.

Other breastfeeding circumstances
can present special challenges when nursing twins, including plugged
ducts, breast infections, nursing strikes, biting, growth spurts, and
thrush. Thrush, for example, needs to be handled in a way to prevent
a cycle of reinfection of mother and her two babies.

What are the special needs
of nursing older twins? Discreetly nursing two toddlers at once in public
can be difficult. At meetings it is important to discuss privacy, taking
turns, and encouragement to mothers to sometimes sit down not only to
nurse but to play games, read stories, and cuddle as well.

Although our meetings cover
the same topics as regular Series Meetings, mothers of twins are encouraged
to attend Series Meetings so they:

form friendships with
other mothers,

broaden their network
of support,

hear how other mothers
encounter and deal with normal breastfeeding issues.

At our meetings for mothers
of multiples, we have a regular Group Library and books for sale, with
extra copies of Karen Gromada's MOTHERING MULTIPLES,
William Sears' NIGHTTIME PARENTING,
and Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish's Siblings Without Rivalry. Evaluation
Meetings are frequently brief and most often held immediately following
the regular meeting. A regular meeting evaluation form is sent to our
District Advisor. We have a Group Librarian and a Group Treasurer. Mothers
who attend are encouraged to become LLL members. Attendance varies from
three or four mothers to as many as eight or ten. Larger numbers are
more difficult because of the increased number of small children. With
three Leaders, we have extra helping hands. Many mothers come with two
infants and a toddler and/or preschooler. Mothers appreciate the assistance
when a Leader offers to help position a second baby at the breast, to
hold one baby while the other one nurses, or to get mothers refreshments
or a snack while they hold twins.

Many communities have support
groups for mothers of twins, but they rarely offer a discussion of breastfeeding
issues or they share different philosophies of parenting. In general,
this type of group serves as a social outlet for members and focuses
on activities for mothers/couples to have a night out or an all-day
trip away. Children may not be permitted at these events or at the regular
evening meetings of these groups. Many mothers find the rummage sales
these types of groups hold for children's clothing, toys, and equipment
especially beneficial, but their members do not necessarily share a
common parenting philosophy.

With the additional challenges,
there are many positive results for mothers who come to twin Group Meetings.
The sight of other mothers who are successfully nursing two babies at
once and who have overcome the early challenges gives real confidence
to a new mother of twins. After delivery she may have been discouraged
from attempting to fully breastfeed two infants. Nothing gives a stronger
message that it is possible to nurse twins than the actual sight of
four or five sets of twins breastfeeding at various ages and stages
of development. In addition, an expectant mother can pick up many tips
about equipment to help her nurse after the birth of her own babies
-- everything from plenty of pillows to what clothing works best when
nursing twins. Nursing nightgowns, for example, are designed for nursing
one baby at a time and are difficult to use with two babies. Two-piece
outfits work better. For winter nights, flannel pajamas worn over an
old T-shirt with two big holes cut out will keep mother's upper body
warm for nighttime feedings.

Certain topics often come
to the forefront in discussions. These include:

positions for nursing two babies at once,

establishing a pattern for nursing together or separately,

whether to wake the second baby to nurse when the first one wakes at night,

how to get adequate sleep and rest,

nutrition, care, support, and help for a mother,

ways for parents to maintain and nurture their relationship as a couple,

ways to meet the needs of the twins' other sibling(s).

When a mother comes to La
Leche League she looks for support in breastfeeding and parenting. We
can nurture and encourage her in a unique way. There are so many outside
pressures on a mother of twins. Special meetings for mothers of multiples
is one way to increase and support breastfeeding among these mothers.

Resources

Double Talk, a quarterly
newsletter for parents of multiples. Karen Gromada, publisher and editor.
Available for $8 US per year from P.O. Box 412, Amelia, Ohio 45102.
(513) 231-8946.